1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to gas turbine engines. More particularly, the invention concerns a novel approach to controlling gas turbine engines to prevent potentially destructive engine overspeed.
2. Description of the Related Art
If a gas turbine engine rotates at a speed beyond its design limits, this is known as overspeed. Depending on the make and model of engine, overspeed may be defined by a maximum rate of revolution and also possibly a duration of time.
It is undesirable to permit a gas turbine engine to overspeed, since this can damage or even destroy the engine. Overspeed frequently results from a defect or failure in a component of the gas turbine engine. Consequently, the best approach to address overspeed is to manually or automatically shut the engine down, in order to carry out repairs at a later time.